The Very Best of Charles de Lint by Charles de Lintreviewed by Steven H Silver
Charles de Lint was writing Urban Fantasy before that genre was infiltrated by vampires and gritty
streets. His Urban Fantasy introduces a magical realism to the world, spirit magic seeping into the cement
environments mankind has built and most of the stories selected for this volume reflect that interest. His
urban fantasy is set in the vibrant city of Newford and its environs, which allows him to look at his magic
in a variety of different neighborhoods and social strata.

Deadman's Road by Joe R. Lansdalereviewed by Mario Guslandi
If you ever met Reverend Jebidiah Mercer in some book by Joe R. Lansdale, I'm sure you loved that character
at first sight. So, the good news is that the whole package of stories featuring the Reverend are now collected
in one volume courtesy of the smart people at Subterranean Press.

The Wolf Age by James Engereviewed by Dominic Cilli
We find Morlock in Wuruyaaria: the city of werewolves. The story begins with Morlock being
captured by a band of werewolves and subsequently imprisoned. Eventually, Morlock befriends a few
fellow prisoners and, soon finds himself in the middle of a
political power struggle. To complicate matters, other unseen forces are at work and are using Morlock and
the city of werewolves as pawns in a much larger game.

UnderKingdom: Disco Goblins vs. The Machine by Jonathan Culverhousereviewed by John Enzinas
This is not the book you expect it to be, given the title and cover art. The cover looks like
something just waiting for a 10-year-old boy to add fighter jets shooting things. The title sounds like a
discount video game bought for that same boy, that he never ever played. It, therefore, came as a great shock
that what's inside was wonderful.

Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredgereviewed by Nathan Brazil
Iridium is a super villain for political reasons, in command of Wreck City and maintaining loose order by wielding light-based powers.
Jet is the Lady of Shadows, sponsored hero of New Chicago, with the ability to call up and manipulate a dark force,
which can be bent to many uses. Jet and Iridium first met at superhero school and
became best friends. Until life pushed them in opposite and opposing directions.

The Girl With No Hands and Other Tales by Angela Slatterreviewed by Mario Guslandi
An Australian author who spins beautiful yarns in a musical, fascinating narrative style, her
enticing stories are set in a magical world in which reality is colourful and fascinating, made of that elusive,
precious substance of which dreams are made. This collection of sixteen enchanting fairy tales
for grownups is penned by this incredibly talented writer.

Yellow Rose of Texas: The Myth of Emily Morgan by Douglas Brodereviewed by Seamus Sweeney
Emily Morgan aka Emily West may, or may not,
have been in General Santa Anna's tent at the Battle of San Jacinto, able to alert the attacking Texican forces
where their adversary was. And she may, or may not, have been the direct inspiration for the ballad "Yellow Rose
of Texas."" In any case, the author takes the print-the-legend approach, and who are we to question the wisdom
of a John Ford movie?

Aurealis, #43reviewed by Rich Horton
In the latest issue of the now venerable Australian magazine Aurealis,
there are the usual features:
Patricia L. O'Neill's science column (this one, "Xtreme Science: A Feast for the Census", is about the huge colonies
of little beasties we can host), an interview with Trudi Canavan (conducted by Kate Forsyth), and book reviews by Keith
Stevenson. But Rich's focus is on the fiction.

Ascendance, Part 2: The Demon Wars by R.A. Salvatorean audiobook review by Gil T. Wilson
As fate would have it, Aydrian crosses paths with Marcalo De'Unnero, the former Bishop of Palmaris,
who has been possessed and is the man that murdered Aydrian's father. De'Unnero
begins plotting against Jilseponie, who is now Queen of Honce-the-Bear, in the land of Corona. De'Unnero's
plan is to put Aydrian on the throne, topple the church and put himself back in power.

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujoldan audiobook review by Nicki Gerlach
Leo Graf would be one of the first people to tell you that he's just an engineer. A very skilled and
accomplished engineer, for sure, but otherwise just an ordinary middle-aged man. He has been summoned by his
employer, GalacTech, to travel to the remote space station known as the Cay Habitat, and to teach safety
inspection and welding to a new bunch of workers there. When he arrives, he's shocked to discover that the
workers are not your average students.

The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack by Mark Hodderreviewed by Nathan Brazil
Taking inspiration from one of the most enduring mysteries of the Victorian age and weaving it
into a tale of time travel and history unmade the novel includes appearances by many celebrities
of the day like nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, a very young Oscar Wilde, naturalist Charles
Darwin, and the poet Algernon Swinburne. In lead role is the explorer and writer Sir
Richard Francis Burton. Part steampunk, part alternate history, with a liberal dollop of detective thriller,
it is a melting pot that has the potential to produce something tasty, or a nauseating mess.

Jupiter, Issue 28, April 2010 / Issue 29, July 2010reviewed by Rich Horton
With the release of the two latest issues of the nice British pure SF magazine Jupiter, issue XXVIII
is subtitled Autonoe and XXIX is subtitled Thyone, Rich wonders what the subtitles will be in the happy event
that Jupiter publishes more than 63 issues.
He thinks the April issue, Autonoe (XXVIII), is one of the strongest numbers of this magazine to date.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clarereviewed by Dan Shade
Vampires, Demons, Clockwork Men, Shape Shifters, Faeries, Evil Humans, and even Werewolves;
these creatures make up the Downworlders, beings or persons who are in part supernatural
in origin. On the other hand, we have the Nephilim who swear their lives to fighting the Downworlders. These
are humans who use magic in many forms to fight their battles against evil. They call themselves
Shadowhunters.

Nexus Graphicaa column by Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams
Similar to their previous Nexus Graphica best of the year columns, the selections showcase the difference
between the tastes of Rick Klaw and Mark London Williams. Of the twenty titles chosen, ten by each, only two titles made
both lists. For comparison purposes, they shared three books last year and two in 2008. Vive la différence!
Rick Klaw is hosting the first (or last... depending on your perspective) five selections
with Mark London Williams returning in two weeks to announce the remainder.

New Arrivalscompiled by Neil Walsh
This time we're looking at the latest in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (co-authored by Brandon Sanderson), as well as new titles from Eric Brown, Ian Esslemont, Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Stephen Donaldson, L.E. Modesitt Jr., Karl Schroeder, and many others.

Watching the Futurea column by Derek Johnson
It seems like only yesterday that Halloween was upon us. But a month later, we come to the holiday that many take
far more seriously, the one in which people invest far more emotion and economics.
Bah, humbug.
There are movies that Derek does like to pop into his DVD player during the holidays, and that, given
very little fudge factor, actually fit as Christmas movies. In that spirit, he has decided to list
ten of those, each of which he feels is worthy of being considered "Christmas movies."

Babylon 5.1TV reviews by Rick Norwood
December is the cruelest month, at least as far as new content on television
goes. Even if you watch everything, there are only
14 new episodes airing. Rick's recommendations: Smallville,
Sanctuary, and Doctor Who.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1a movie review by Rick Norwood
Rick has seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 twice now, and enjoyed it more the second time
than the first. The action sequences, of which there are many, are not as exciting as those in, for
example, Unstoppable, the runaway train film. But it is extremely good.

Bearings: Reviews 1997-2001 by Gary K. Wolfereviewed by Paul Kincaid
Two things are different between this volume and its predecessor. In the first place, trivially,
this volume carries an introduction by Peter Straub. No famous name introduced Soundings, and to be honest
no famous name was needed to introduce it. Wolfe is well enough known and respected in his own right, and it's likely
that there aren't many people buying a collection of science fiction book reviews who would need to be
told who Gary Wolfe is or why this volume is a good thing.